Interviews with the Council
by aaronp6500
Summary: 48 hours after the Tesseract event, agents Maria Hill, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton of SHIELD, and others are being interrogated by the World Security Council, SHIELD's only consultant to report to. What questions will be asked? What answers will be given in return? What secrets may possibly be revealed?
1. Agent Romanoff

**Interviews with the Council**

_SHIELD Interrogation:_

_Agent Natasha Romanoff_

_48 Hours after Tesseract Event_

Natasha Romanoff (or the Black Widow) sits down in a rotating chair in front of an outstretched tempered glass table. In the center of the table in a circle is a huge SHIELD symbol that had the figure of the silver eagle with three feathers on each wing. The table's wide enough to sit down about 30-something people for a large meeting. But ironically, there's only just one chair pulled in, and Natasha is the one sitting down in it. She's still wearing her black skin-tight leather SHIELD cat suit. She sits with her arms bent lying down on the surface of the table and slightly leaning forward with her head tilted and her eyes staring ,down at her reflection through the spotless, clear, chaste glass, while her short and red curly hair bang in front of her forehead loosely dangles down in a nice swirl towards the table. Her face is still full of small dry-blooded cuts and bruises from the recent battle in Manhattan. She fought with heart and effort, and she closed the portal that released the endless wave of Chitauri soldiers down at the sleepless city. Natasha should feel proud, but deep down inside she wasn't. She still had red in her ledger after all. And now she has to confront with SHIELD's only consultant: The Council.

The first World Security Council member speaks.

"Agent Romanoff, what was your motivation behind the reasoning of your actions you committed just 17 hours ago?"

Natasha, while still in her slouched position, took a deep breath and then focused her eyes from the table to the Council before her, whose faces were displayed on four large, blue, holographic monitors.

"I had red in my ledger," Natasha began. "I thought of it as a way to help get rid of it, to subdue it. And Phil. . .

Natasha paused for a brief moment and swallowed and then continued.

"Phil . . . was a good man. He was surely a better person than I could ever be. He was never anything like me. He wasn't a cold-blooded, emotionless assassin for hire who kills his victims mercilessly without any solicitude. He didn't have any red in _his_ ledger."

Word Council member #2, the only woman of the Council, speaking,

"Did Agent Coulson ever give you any confirmation about his personal life?"

"Not really," answered Natasha. "The only thing I know about him is that he didn't have a wife."

World Council member #1 speaking again,

"Agent Romanoff, please clarify exactly what you mean by the term 'red in your ledger'."

Natasha looked back down at the table again at her reflection. No one's ever asked her that before. It was nothing she ever really wanted to talk about to anyone. It definitely wasn't her favorite topic either to talk about her past. But Natasha had been silent for 10 seconds already, and she didn't want to waste anymore of the Council's time, even though she could care less how long they wait.

"It means I have blood on my hands. They're filthy. All the people that I've killed . . . under orders that I chose to follow. And all the people that I've killed in the past months. I'm still just as tantamount as before. I could've been the sweetest girl in the world; could've been the wealthiest, kindest, most sincere women of all of Russia if it wasn't for the fire. That damn fire took the only two people who had hope for me. The two people who ever actually loved me."

Natasha was trained to be emotionless at pretty much all times, but she was now starting to feel small tears beginning to fill up in her eyes. She couldn't believe she was about to cry. Natasha had always said to never keep living in the past and just keep moving forward with life, but deep down inside she couldn't let go of her own past. Maybe it just felt better to tell other people that so that they wouldn't feel the same way she did. Natasha then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She did her best to fight her tears so that she could continue to speak. Once she got her tears to go away, she opened her eyes again and lifted her head back up to the four Council members.

"I've done a lot of things in the past that I regret doing to this day. I didn't know how to make up for them. But there _is _one person who I found that really brightens my day whether I'm on an extremely dangerous mission, or have just had a bad day period."

World Council #1 speaks,

"Who exactly might that person be?"

Natasha wasn't going to tell.

"He's an agent. He works for SHIELD," she said.

World Council #2 speaks,

"And what is the exact identity of this particular agent?"

Natasha had her head turned to the side of the wall while still listening. She had great communication skills by normally giving direct eye contact, but with the emotional topic being brought about now forced her to turn away. She didn't want to show the weak look in her eyes to the Council, though once again, she could care less what the Council thinks. After hearing the Councilwoman's question, Natasha then turned her head at her and gave her an adamant look. She still didn't want to tell.

_"True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive."_

_―Mignon McLaughlin_


	2. Agent Barton

_SHIELD Interrogation:_

_Agent Clint Barton_

_48 Hours after Tesseract Event_

Clint (or Hawkeye) is sitting down in the same chair that Natasha did while still wearing his leather, sleeveless combat vest. He's also being asked a series of questions by the anonymous Council members pertaining to the recent Tesseract incident that cost the lives of nearly thousands. He sits all the way back in the chair relaxed, not putting his arms or hands on the table. He's still able to manage to look down at his reflection seen on the surface of the glass table. That's all there really was to see in the room, besides the holographic monitors of the four Councilmen. His reflection was all that really felt comfortable to look to at the moment. He knew that all of the other agents knew what he had done. They all thought that Clint was dangerous to be around now. They all thought that he could turn at any moment now and just stick an arrow to their heart. And it was all thanks to Loki. He hated Loki because of that. Loki almost made him kill his most beloved partner and ally. Loki made him kill dozens of agents. Loki almost made him kill his only boss. After he and rest of The Avengers had won the battle in New York and when they were standing over Loki who was looking up to them on the ground brutally beaten by the Hulk, Clint so wished that he had actually put an arrow through his eye socket; it would have made him probably feel much better.

World Council member #2 speaking,

"Did you have any slight sense of awareness whatsoever while held under Loki's spell, Agent Barton?"

Clint was still in his daydreaming state, until the Council member snapped him out of it. He was a little irritated by the interruption; he kind of liked daydreaming. Hardly hearing the Councilwoman's full question, Clint began to speak up to what he did hear.

"I don't think so," said Clint out of incertitude.

World Council member #2 continues,

"After you regained _your _consciousness, were you aware of the consequences of your actions?"

Clint looked straight at the Councilwoman with one eyebrow raised. It sounded like one of the most ridiculous questions someone could ask. Clint spoke up again, this time more clear.

"With all due respect ma'am, I don't see how a man who has been totally possessed by some mythical magic with absolutely no knowledge of what he's doing even at the exact moment of where he's standing can be accused of his actions that he never in the first place even had recognition of doing."

All four of the Council members were hushed by Clint's potent words. Clint was speaking out defense for himself because he knew that he was innocent in the results of his involuntary murders. However, he felt ashamed of himself for not being able to prevent Loki from taking his mind in the first place. He could've just as easily got away and left the rest of the agents, including Director Fury, to die while he saved himself. But Clint wasn't like that. He was loyal to his agency, loyal to SHIELD, and he wanted to prove that by sacrificing his life for Nick Fury. 'You have heart' is what Loki said to Clint just before he took control of his mind. In a way, he guessed, Loki was right. Clint did have heart. And these Councilmen before him sure weren't going to say it any different.

World Council member #3, a councilman from China, finally decides to speak,

"It's been said that Agent Romanoff had revived you through the act of "cognitive recalibration". If you can remember, what did you feel after that?"

Clint had to think hard and deep about that for a moment. He had to clearly search his brain for things to try and remember exactly what happened. It was a sort of strange feeling. It was like trying to remember the first day you were born. Nobody can really remember what everything looked like the first day they were born because it was so long ago when they were a baby. That's sort of what it felt like for Clint after regaining his consciousness from Loki's power. Then, a sudden memory clicked into his brain after 10 long seconds of concentrating. Once he remembered it, he instantly spoke what was on his mind before he forgot it.

"I remember me being on the ground. My head was aching badly like I just took a blow to the cranium by some blunt object. Everything looked blurry. Shapes kept on expanding and then shrinking again. I felt like I was on LSD. Then I was grabbing onto a rail and that's when I looked up and saw someone in front of me. I couldn't see who it was at first because my vision was still blurry. But then after a few seconds my eyes were beginning to adjust perfectly again. After some seconds had passed I then began to know who it was who was standing in front of me."

World Council member #2 speaks,

"And who was that person you saw standing before you?"

Clint thought they would already have known, which they probably did, but he said so anyway.

"It was Agent Romanoff. Once I saw her, I tried to speak as clear as I could. I tried to say her name to be sure that it was her, and then that was it. That's all I could remember after that moment. I guess I went back out again."

World Council member #1

"Then, what did you remember after that?"

"That's when I found myself in a chair with my hands tied up in restraints. I couldn't move anywhere. Everything started to look blurry again, like I was still on LSD. That's when I heard a voice. It was a familiar voice. I began to notice it was feminine. And that's when I saw that it was Agent Romanoff sitting by my side. Her hair looked blazing orange; it seemed to contrast from the rest of the colors on her body. It seemed to contrast too much that I had to squint my eyes to prevent it from blinding me. She began to say some words that I could hardly fully comprehend. That's when suddenly, as quick as a switch of light, I was pulled back into my conscious mind and had full control and awareness of what was around me. I was _me_ again. I was then suddenly engaged in the conversation with Romanoff without any disarray, as if I had clearly heard the first few words she had said before. It was such a weird feeling of going back into my mind. It was like returning to an old house you haven't seen in 30 years. It felt different being back in it again."

World Council member #3 speaks,

"Would you have preferred Agent Romanoff being in the room with you at the time rather than some other paramedic?"

Clint was honestly caught off guard by the question. He hadn't expected to be asked that. He also began to wonder why they would assume that he had any affection for Natasha at all. But due to their various missions they did together that were put on record, he wasn't too surprised by this. And everyone including Director Fury knew that he had spared her life. That's what he was really known for around SHIELD; the man who spared the Black Widow. Clint just paused for a moment at the question, not knowing what to say. Deep down inside though, he would actually prefer Natasha over someone else. He owed her his life for what she did for him. He was glad she hit him hard on the head.

"To be honest, yes, I would've more likely preferred Natasha-

Clint stopped and corrected himself formally. "Agent Romanoff, to be with me in the room to help release the rest of my caged-in conscious."

He didn't know why he had corrected himself like that. He really didn't feel it was necessary to do so, but he did it anyway. Was he really _that_ loyal to SHIELD that he forced himself to speak formally at all times? SHIELD would probably think it would be necessary since he was speaking to the Council, but Natasha was different than any of the others to Clint. She deserved to be informed as Natasha to others. He was even the only one who ever called her by her nickname 'Nat'. He called her that pretty much all the time. The only time he ever called her Natasha was when he was speaking sincerely to her about something or when she wasn't in the mood.

Clint still didn't know if it was right to tell the Council that he felt comfortable around Natasha, for if he ever ran into another allegation, they could possibly use that fact against him in some way. He didn't know, he was just assuming.

_"Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the key to every situation."_

_―James Allen_


	3. Agent Hill

_SHIELD Interrogation:_

_Agent Maria Hill_

_48 Hours after Tesseract Event_

"You want to know what went wrong?" Maria spoke.

She sits down in the rotating chair looking down at the table at her reflection with her arms lying down on the chair's arm rests. She still has a small cut on her right cheek and a small cut and bruise on her forehead from the attack on the helicarrier before.

"This horror . . . this . . . catastrophe, could've been averted," she continued, now looking to the Council.

World Council member #1 speaks,

"A lot of people are dead, Agent Hill. Somebody has to answer for that."

"A lot of people have to answer for that," Maria quickly spoke.

World council member #2 speaks,

"Nick Fury?"

Maria shook her head at the sound of his name. She couldn't stand that name.

"That man," said Maria out of disgust.

World council member #2 continues,

"You've filed several reports criticizing Director Fury's actions since you've joined SHIELD."

Maria shifted her eyes to the side and back again and gave an expression that looked as though the Councilwoman gave an obvious statement.

"Because he's reckless," Maria said out of even more disgust. She takes her arms off the arm rests and begins to talk with her hands. "We're at war, and he thinks about superheroes."

World Council member #1 speaks,

"The Avengers?"

Maria shakes her head and mutters under her breath, "God."

"Who would bring those people together . . . and not expect what happened?" Maria spoke rhetorically.

She suddenly had a quick image of the Hulk all big, bulk, and green, roaring ferociously. She then jumped back in her seat and grabbed tightly onto the arm rests with both of her hands at the thought as if she just awoke from a terrible nightmare. In her eyes, the Hulk-or all of the Avengers for that matter-was a great threat to the entire world. She definitely thought Director Fury was reckless as can be. She hates having to work for him. She's just a woman trying to fit her place in the world but can't because of many people in her life holding her back, and Fury was one of those people. She felt that she could run the entire SHIELD organization by herself in a much better way than Fury could.

World Council member #1 speaks,

"It has been confirmed that the supposed Captain America trading cards that Agent Coulson collected were actually in his locker, not his jacket."

Maria then looked up to the Councilman out of shock. _They had known, too_ she thought. Maria had found the cards in Coulson's locker herself and was suspicious as to what Fury had actually done with them. It was starting to become clear that he himself took the cards out of Phil's locker and added fake blood on them to fool the others into thinking that they were in Phil's jacket and that he truly _was_ dead. But now Maria didn't know what to think of the situation now. She understood that Fury did it to push the Avengers into fighting to defend the world (in which they did), but she still thought that the whole initiative in general was a bad idea in the first place.

World Council member #1 continues,

"Did you ever make any speculations as to whether or not Agent Coulson was truly deceased?"

Maria had to think for a moment. She knows that every word that's being spoken between her and the Council stays in this room, but she felt precarious as if there were no walls between this room and the hallways outside.

"I . . . told Director Fury that the cards were found in Coulson's locker and he said that they needed the push."

World Council member #2 speaks,

"And who exactly are you referring to as 'they'?"

"The Avengers," Maria replied. She hated the sound of that name, too.

Maria knew she was wrong for her thoughts of ungratefulness. The Avengers did after all save Manhattan and the rest of the world from destruction. However, she couldn't help thinking that even they were the causes of some other hundreds of deaths as well; the way the Hulk smashed and bashed through various buildings and crashed through many windows, how Thor violently swung his hammer doing just as much damage as the Hulk, and how Stark recklessly shot his missiles and repulsors down at the Chitauri soldiers on their hover pods, causing them to fly down and crash into pedestrian filled streets and buildings. They could've committed a worse catastrophe than 9/11. But in the end, they _did _save the world from an even worse disaster. Maria just didn't want to come to acknowledge that, even though she knew she was wrong.

World Council member #1 speaks,

"So, that now comes down to my final question, Agent Hill. Do you believe that Phil Coulson is dead?"

Maria got goose bumps just listening to the question. Is Phil really dead? She didn't even know the answer. Perhaps, she didn't even _want_ to know the answer. If anything, she was probably much closer to Phil than any of the other agents. Knowing the truth of what really happened to him would probably crush her heart. Maria didn't necessarily have love for him, but he was someone that Maria could truly call a friend. It was almost a miracle to ever have one of those in a secret intelligence agency of any type whether it was the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, SHIELD, you name it.

Maria took a deep breath and looked back up to the Council and spoke.

"I'm not sure."

_"This life is not for complaint, but for satisfaction."_

_―Henry David Thoreau_


	4. Steve Rogers

_SHIELD Interrogation:_

_Captain Steve Rogers_

_2 Months after Tesseract Event_

"Captain Rogers, could you please describe what you saw on that day?" World Council member #2 asks.

Steve's mind suddenly became full of disturbing thoughts and images. They weren't just any random images. They were memories. Memories of burning buildings, explosions, an endless wave of an invading army, civilians dying; they were innocent civilians dying with no thought of what was going on around them, crumbling buildings, sheets of ash, and a god of mischief. They were memories of catastrophe. Probably the most catastrophic thing Steve had ever laid his eyes upon. And he was not only a witness of it, but a part of it as well.

The images continued to disperse in Steve's mind, until he finally turned his thoughts into words and spoke to the council while still thinking.

"I was standing there in the middle of a street. I held my shield in my left hand. I was covered in ashes. The street was too. Everything was. I looked around me and saw cars wrecked and ruined. A few were tipped over. I saw a young woman who was lying down under a flipped over car. She looked like she may have been injured. She had a bruise on her right knee. An officer came and knelt by her and called for a paramedic on his transmission, I think. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I've been asleep for 70 years after saving Manhattan from the brink of mass destruction and then I wake up to this; an even worse disaster. But what was worse was that I couldn't stop this one from happening in time. We had to stop it after it happened."

World Council member #1 speaks,

"What all are you referring to as 'we'?"

Steve was awfully surprised by that question. He figured they would have already known who 'we' was. Or maybe they were just checking to see if Steve knew all of what he was talking about, which he did.

"Us. Our team. Nick Fury's team," Steve answered.

World Council member #3 speaks,

"You mean The Avengers?"

"Yes," Steve answered softly.

He didn't know why it was so hard to say that name. The Avengers. What was so hard about saying that? It was their team name after all, and Steve did always like to think as a team. He never was an independent man who went on solo or stealth missions by himself like his teammate, Black Widow, or as he liked to call her, Agent Romanoff (or on occasion, Natasha). But there was just something about the idea of having a name that he didn't like. Was it too fancy? Too comical? Too overrated? What was it? It really bothered Steve in some way. It almost makes him think as if Nick Fury himself sat down just thinking of tons of ideas for an awesome name that would fit in the category for all the team members. And in the end, it actually did fit them. But the thought disgusted Steve, and he quickly snapped out of his state of daydreaming and listened to the council member who was just now asking a question.

World Council member #1 speaks,

"What motivated you to fully cooperate with your team to save Manhattan even after the incidents that occurred on the Helicarrier before, including your arguments and disagreements with Tony Stark?"

Steve was once again surprised at the question. Not because it was obvious this time, but because the council seemed to know everything. It didn't seem like there was one thing they didn't know about. If they knew so much about the events of what happened nearly every second of that day, then why couldn't they figure out a man's intentions? That too may seem like a hard answer to figure out, but not really, considering the fact that the person they're asking is Captain America; The Star Spangled Man with a plan, the do-gooder, the man who puts others before himself, the man who doesn't want to kill anyone but hates bullies, the man who loves his country more than himself, and so on. So once again, it seems to really do come down to an obvious question after all. With a man of this mindset, how could you not know what motivated him to cooperate with his team and put all of their crap behind him?

"Because the city, Manhattan . . . my country . . . the whole world needed us," Steve spoke. "Loki needed to be stopped. I sure wasn't going to let some madman go about and destroy and enslave the entire planet. I was going to take action. And thank God my teammates were willing to do that with me as well. We all personally had something against Loki, so that made it easier for us to win. He lacked any true conviction, but we didn't. We knew what we were fighting for. We believed in what we were fighting for."

World Council member #2 speaks,

"And what exactly were you all fighting for?"

Steve answered as honestly as he could, "Our peace of mind."

The answered seemed very confusing even to the council, as from what Steve could see. The council members exchanged looks at each other in astonishment. They wouldn't expect those words to come from Steve's mouth. He was a soldier after all. How could a soldier possibly have a piece of mind? Steve was right though. The Avengers were fighting for their peace of mind, including Steve. Steve finally faced the fact that he _did_ lose some of the most important people in his past, but he didn't lose everything. And that showed him that he could still fight for the very thing he swore to die for: his country. Tony finally realized that others around him are just as important to his life as the air he breathes. An example of that for him was Phil Coulson. Tony never really did have a friendship for Phil due to the fact that the only time Phil ever saw him was for a mission tasked by Nick Fury, but when he _did_ die, Tony realized the scar Phil left in him and he learned the true value of humanity. As a whole, we are meant to live on each other so that we can adapt to survive. And Tony learned that valuable lesson, and he came to acknowledge and accept that, and it also made him feel better with his peace of mind. And Bruce, learned to accept his other side as the Hulk, and rather than continuing to believe himself to be an unsafe reckless monster, he instead used the Hulk as a friend in need of drastic measures, which in this case was saving the world from destruction. Natasha (a.k.a. Black Widow) faced her fear that day on the Helicarrier when the Hulk was unleashed. All her life she had been used by the Soviet government and raised a cold-blooded killer. She killed so many people along the way, so many people she didn't even know, people who could've had families that meant something to them. But she was trained to be emotionless, so she had no sympathy for any of them. However, after years of being used by the Soviet, she finally took advantage of her own life and became independent, that was, until she met SHIELD and The Avengers. That emotional trauma of being brainwashed and unmade made her even more afraid of her own teammate, the Hulk, for Bruce didn't know what he was doing either when he was smashing things about. After so many years of killing and despair, she had red in her ledger that she wanted to wipe out, but was told she couldn't and that her regrets will always be a part of her. Then, she finally found a way to make up for it. She did something better for herself and others this time without even her fully realizing it. She fought alongside with The Avengers and saved the world. Thor did what he always believed was right by protecting Midgard at all costs and that urged him even more to save Earth from his mischievous brother. Thor knew that the humans had nothing to do with Loki's childish, evil plan, and that Loki had a much higher advantage over them due to his godly capabilities, but that didn't make Loki superior either. So Thor fought against his own brother that he loved dearly for the sake of the Earth and the human race, and it pleased Thor very much. Hawkeye unknowingly killed many SHIELD agents who were his allies after Loki took hold of his mind. After that, he wanted to make up for what he had done by giving back to world by saving other civilians' lives, and he couldn't have done it without the rest of The Avengers. All of The Avengers had a reason for what they did on the battlefield in Manhattan, and that was once again, to fight for their peace of mind, otherwise, the plan of bringing them together may have never happened.

_"Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back." _

_― Jodi Picoult_


	5. Bruce Banner

_SHIELD Interrogation:_

_Dr. Bruce Banner_

_1 Month after Tesseract Event_

"Dr. Banner, is it believed to be true that you have full ascendancy over the Hulk," World Council member #3 asks.

Bruce hadn't heard that name in a while. The Hulk. He always liked to call it "the other guy". The Hulk just gave him painful memories that he wished he could've relived and made better of it. The Hulk was a monster; a savage, horrid, brute, ferocious monster full of unstoppable rage. Or was it? What difference did it really make to call the Hulk "the other guy"? They were both still the same beast, right? Maybe "the other guy" sounded a little less threatening than the Hulk, which is an actual word in the English dictionary meaning to appear large or threatening. But the real reason Bruce called his alter ego "the other guy" was because he truly felt insecure of himself. The Hulk caused him much despair in his life and hurt some people that he really cared about. Bruce no longer wants any part with the Hulk after knowing all of what it's capable of. He doesn't want to have to hurt anyone else.

"I guess, you _could_ say," said Bruce. "I've learned how to manage my anger now. In fact, I always still do feel anger sometimes, but the Hulk is never present."

World Council member #2 speaks,

"Then what caused for it to unleash that day on the Helicarrier?"

_Because of that stupid god of mischief,_ Bruce thought. Good thing he didn't say that, otherwise it would've made him seem unprofessional. But was it really Loki? Or was it just himself? A few years back he had went a whole month without an incident until he willingly unleashed the Hulk. Willingly. That's a word he never thought would be associated with 'unleash' and 'Hulk'. But if he did supposedly have control over the Hulk, then why did he unleash it on the Helicarrier? Because he was overwhelmed. It was forced out of him. He didn't mean to do it but SHIELD kept on pushing it; Agent Romanoff especially. She lied to him and dragged him back into a world where he would be looked upon as a dangerous monster. Yeah, the Hulk was, but not Bruce. But it was strange because Loki was supposed to be the one manipulating him, right? That was his plan: unleash the Hulk on the helicarrier and escape, according to Agent Romanoff. But Bruce was supposed to be in control all the time. Not this time though.

"SHIELD caused it," answered Bruce.

World Council member #1 speaks,

"Why do you believe that SHIELD was responsible?"

"Because they were angering the beast," Bruce softly spoke.

World Council member #2 speaks,

"What are specific details as to how they were making the situation worse?"

Bruce had to think for a moment. When SHIELD fed his brain with only a few lies, it seemed to trigger thousands of more painful memories. It reminded him of the terrible things the Hulk had committed to people he truly cared about in the past, like Betty. It reminded him so much of Betty. He missed her deep down inside. He hated the Hulk for hurting her. But he really hated himself for not having control. But there really wasn't much he could do at that moment. It was an experiment being performed to see how the serum would work, and unfortunately, it resulted with terrible casualties. That's when he started running. Ran off to where no one could find him. No one could bother him. Eventually though, they _did _find him, but of course they couldn't stop him forever. But because of the terrible life he _was_ living, it made it even harder on him for SHIELD to try and bring him back to it. They knew what he was. They knew what the Hulk was, and they knew what it was capable of.

"They fed me lies," said Bruce. "They told me they needed me to help find the Tesseract, but I didn't believe that's really what they needed me for. They wanted to force me back into the very thing I tried my best to avoid. I went a whole year . . . an entire year without an incident, and this is what I'm dragged back into; more mess. I just wanted to get away from it. I didn't want to go back to my old self."

World Council member #2 speaks,

"Do you consider the Hulk to be a monster caged into your mind, Dr. Banner?"

_Boy, are these answers are getting intense,_ Bruce thought.

"Sometimes," he answered.

World Council member #1 speaks,

"Could you please clarify what you mean by 'sometimes'?"

"It's like sometimes I know that I have full control of it, that I could just snap at any moment as I please, like how someone chooses to swing a punch when they're angered. It's up to them whether they want to swing it or not. But then there's almost another side to it; to the Hulk."

Bruce couldn't believe he just said that name. He never said that name since the time it accidently slipped from his mouth while he was having a conversation with Stark in the lab on the Helicarrier, in which he _did_ correct himself with "the other guy".

"Sometimes it's not as simple as choosing to swing a punch with the Hulk," Bruce continued. "It _is _almost like a caged beast. If you continue to irritate it, to anger it, it'll eventually break free, and I'll no longer have any power over it."

Suddenly it became clear to Bruce how the Hulk was unleashed. It truly _was_ Loki's fault. And his plan played out very well. When Agent Romanoff got the information about his plan on him, she did it in a manipulative way by fooling him into thinking she was feeling sad inside from the terrible events of her past that Loki was bringing up. But then Loki apparently slipped by saying just one sentence: "You brought the monster." So Romanoff reported quickly to the others about his plan, and after that, everyone prepared themselves. That was the kicker. Everyone prepared themselves. They all believed what Romanoff said, and if they didn't, the conversation was recorded anyway. After hearing of Loki's plan, Nick Fury and the others began to become very suspicious of Bruce. They all knew what the Hulk was capable of. They knew he could tear apart the entire Helicarrier if they let him. But they weren't going to let him. And for a moment, Bruce believed that Fury was going to attempt to kill him by putting him in his containment cell, but Bruce already knew that wouldn't work. Everyone was going against him at this point because they believed Bruce was about to do something crazy. This was all just like before in his life: everyone believing him to be an unsafe monster and would try to restrain him (which of course would never work). It was all coming back to him so fast that he couldn't handle it anymore. The Hulk couldn't handle it anymore. And so he snapped. He took it out on Agent Romanoff; the one who lied to him; the one who put him back into this mess. So Loki never actually seemed to give his plan away by accident at all. It's as if he wanted them to know of his plan. Did he really believe that the famous, manipulative Black Widow could fool the god of mischief? Bruce wouldn't think so.

World Council member #3 speaks,

"The record states that when you completed your full transformation into the Hulk on the Helicarrier, that your first target was Agent Natasha Romanoff. If that is to be true, were you aware of your actions?"

_Wow, did they just read my mind, _Bruce thought to himself. That incident was another painful memory Bruce would then have to add to memory lane. Bruce later understood that Natasha was an agent whose job was to lie. She never truly meant to hurt him even though she did. She knows how it feels to be unmade, to not know what you're doing while in a completely different state of mind. But Bruce didn't know that in time before. Bruce never wishes to hurt anyone for nearly any reason. It's not in his nature to inflict harm willingly onto someone. And he didn't want to harm Natasha either, but the Hulk did. The Hulk wanted to smash her into smithereens. And right before he completed his transformation while the two of them were trapped in the lower engine levels, he looked into her eyes and she saw that they were _his_ eyes. The look in his eyes seemed to show Natasha how sorry he was for what he was about to do. He knew he was about to try and kill her, and he couldn't stop it. But when he reunited with The Avengers in Manhattan under full control again, he was glad to find that he didn't end up killing her and that Thor saved her in the nick of time.

"I was before I had completely lost _my_ state of mind," Bruce answered. "I was trying to fight it. I could hear Natasha telling me the same thing, too: to fight it. But I couldn't. I kept feeling closer and closer to the Hulk and I was losing myself. I took one last glimpse of her through my eyes and saw how terrified she was. She was watching the monster breaking loose right before her eyes. Then, after that, I knew what was going to happen after I _did_ lose myself. The Hulk was going to try and kill her."

Bruce then cut himself off from speaking. The conversation was beginning to get too deep and emotional for him. He looked down at the table in front of him. What he saw in the glass surface was his reflection. Bruce took a good look down at himself. Was it him, or the Hulk that he was looking at?

_"Anger is a great force. If you can control it, it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world."_

_―William Shenstone_


End file.
